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Hormonal status of the pollen-pistil system at the progamic phase of fertilization after compatible and incompatible pollination in Petunia hybrida L.

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Abstract

The hormonal status of the pollen-pistil system in Petunia hybrida L. during the progamic phase of fertilization was investigated. The contents of indolyl-3-acetic acid (IAA), abscisic acid (ABA), and cytokinins, as well as the rate of ethylene production in the pistils and their parts (stigma, style, and ovary) were measured over an 8-h period following compatible and self-incompatible pollination. In both pollinations, the phytohormones were present in various proportions in the stigma, style and ovary: the stigma was the main site of ethylene synthesis and contained 90% of the ABA, while the style contained 80% of the total cytokinin content in the pollinated pistil. Relatively low levels of hormones in the ovary did not influence the hormonal status of the pollen-pistil system. The interaction of the male gametophyte with the stigmatic tissues was accompanied by a 7- to 10-fold increase in ethylene production and a 1.5- to 2.0-fold increase in IAA content in the pollen-pistil system over 0–4 h. Pollen tube growth after self-incompatible pollination, in contrast to compatible pollination, was accompanied by a 3-fold increase in the ABA content in the stigma and style and by a 5-fold higher cytokinin content in the stylar tissues. Thus, the ethylene/ABA status of the stigma may play a role in controlling the processes of adhesion, hydration, and germination of pollen grains during pollination while the auxin/cytokinin status of the style may be involved in controlling pollen tube growth.

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Acknowledgement

This work is supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant no. 03-04-48451)

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  1. Institute of Plant Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Botanicheskaya 35, 127276 , Moscow, Russia

    Lidia Kovaleva & Ekaterina Zakharova

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  1. Lidia Kovaleva
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  2. Ekaterina Zakharova
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Correspondence to Lidia Kovaleva.

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Kovaleva, L., Zakharova, E. Hormonal status of the pollen-pistil system at the progamic phase of fertilization after compatible and incompatible pollination in Petunia hybrida L.. Sex Plant Reprod 16, 191–196 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00497-003-0189-1

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